Phil Crane
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th district
In office November 25, 1969 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Donald Rumsfeld
Succeeded by	Melissa Bean
Born	November 3, 1930 (1930-11-03) (age 77) Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Arlene Catherine Johnson
Religion	Protestant

Philip Miller "Phil" Crane (born November 3, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American politician. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The 8th Congressional District of Illinois covers the northern suburbs of Chicago, including portions of Lake, McHenry and Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9 1932 is a United States Businessman, Politician, the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Melissa Luburić Bean (born on January 22, 1962) American politicianhas been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Crane was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 2005, representing the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. The 8th Congressional District of Illinois covers the northern suburbs of Chicago, including portions of Lake, McHenry and Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. At the time of his defeat in the 2004 election, Crane was the longest-serving Republican member of the House.

Biography

Crane was educated at Hillsdale College, the University of Vienna, received his PhD in history in 1961 from Indiana University and served in the United States Army. Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan is a co-educational Liberal arts college known for its refusal of government funding and its monthly publication The University of Vienna (Universität Wien is a Public university located in Vienna, Austria. "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Indiana University is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. He also attended DePauw University and the University of Michigan. DePauw University in Greencastle Indiana, USA is a private national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2400 students The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research

His brother, Dan Crane, served alongside him as Congressman from another Illinois district for three terms. Daniel Bever Crane (born January 10, 1936) is an American Politician. Another brother, David Crane, ran for Congress from Indiana a few times simultaneously with Phil and Dan. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union The brothers were dubbed "the Kennedys of the Right".

However, David never won a seat in Congress, and Dan ended up being defeated for re-election in 1984 due, in part, to his involvement in the 1983 Congressional page sex scandal. The 1983 Congressional Page sex scandal was a Political scandal in the United States involving members of the United States House of Representatives. Philip Crane began to battle alcoholism, which he publicly acknowledged after winning reelection in 2000. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions

Crane was a faculty member at Indiana University and at Bradley University in Peoria, a staff member for the Republican National Committee and a director of research for the 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Bradley University is a private Co-educational University located in Peoria Illinois. Peoria Illinois (named after the Peoria tribe is the largest city on the Illinois River and the County seat of Peoria County, Illinois The Republican National Committee (RNC provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States.

Political career

Crane was first elected to the United States Congress in the 13th District of Illinois in a 1969 special election, succeeding Donald Rumsfeld, who was appointed to a position in the Nixon administration. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9 1932 is a United States Businessman, Politician, the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Crane was a dark horse candidate in a field of seven aspirants and prevailed, despite the opposition of the Chicago North Shore GOP monied establishment by being the most pronounced conservative in that large field of candidates.

He soon established himself as one of the House's most conservative members, leading a small but growing cluster of right-wing congressmen who had cut their teeth in the fledgling conservative intellectual movement of the early 1960s and drew their inspiration from Goldwater's presidential campaign. He was handily elected to a full term in 1970, and was reelected 16 times. His district number changed as Illinois lost congressional seats — from the 13th (1969–73) to the 12th (1973–93) to the 8th (1993–2005). His district was long considered the most Republican district in the Chicago area, if not in all of Illinois. He almost always won with 70 percent or more of the vote until the 1990s, when he had to fend off more moderate Republicans in the primary and better-funded Democrats in the general election. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party.

Soon after being elected to his first full term in 1970, he was tapped by several conservative activists, including Paul Weyrich, to form a group of conservative congressmen to keep watch on the Republican leadership, which at the time was seen as too moderate. Paul M Weyrich (born October 7, 1942, in Racine Wisconsin) is a US conservative political activist and commentator This new group was known as the Republican Study Committee, and Crane served as its first chairman. The Republican Study Committee is a Caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. He remained a member of the group for the remainder of his time in Congress.

In 1976, he was appointed Chairman of the Illinois Citizens for Reagan in which capacity he made numerous speaking engagements throughout the midwest on behalf of the conservative California governor's unsuccessful GOP primary bid for the Presidential nomination. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

In 1978, he became chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), a Washington, D. The American Conservative Union ( ACU) is an American political organization advocating conservative policies. C. based conservative citizens' lobby and political action group. During his tenure the group waged a nationwide campaign against President Jimmy Carter's proposed cession of the Panama Canal and against the proposed SALT II arms limitation treaty with the USSR. James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 The Panama Canal is a man-made Canal in Panama which joins the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 As a result of these efforts, the organization's budget, staff and presence in Washington greatly increased. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

Presidential ambitions

In 1978, shortly before the general election, Crane announced that he would be a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. This surprised many observers, as Crane had supported Reagan for president two years earlier. At the time of his announcement, Crane expressed doubts that Reagan would run again (after two failed attempts for the nomination in 1968 and 1976), and intimated that, should Reagan run, he would likely drop out. However, he did stay in the race after Reagan's entry, and was one of the early candidates to drop out of the race during the Republican primaries.

Political eclipse

Phil Crane (right) meets with President George W. Bush and Bill Thomas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, at the White House. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941) commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician was a Republican member Committee of Ways and Means is the chief Tax -writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence

After the 1980 campaign, Crane's influence rapidly declined. Newt Gingrich, who had been elected to Congress soon after Crane announced his candidacy for president, soon surpassed him as the leading conservative firebrand in the House. Newton "Newt" Leroy Gingrich, (born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the Speaker By the time the Republicans took control of the House in 1994, Crane was widely seen as merely a "foot soldier" to Republican interests.

Crane did have some influence as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax issues. Committee of Ways and Means is the chief Tax -writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. As chairman of its trade subcommittee, he was effective in his efforts to promote his staunch free trade views. Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions However, when the full committee's chairman, Bill Archer of Texas, retired after the 2000 elections, Crane made a bid for the highly coveted post of Ways and Means chairman. William Reynolds “Bill” Archer Jr (born on March 2, 1928 in Houston Texas) is a former American lawyer and politician Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. He was the committee's most senior member, having been on the panel since 1975. However, he was passed over in favor of Bill Thomas of California for the Chairman's job. William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941) commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician was a Republican member California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Some believe that Crane was not chosen because prior to the vote he had admitted to being an alcoholic and sought a leave from the House to get treatment. Others believe that Thomas' ability to raise money for congressional candidates helped him win the chairmanship. ^[1]. Crane did earn the vice-chairmanship of the powerful committee.

Political defeat

In 2002, Crane's Democratic opponent was business consultant Melissa Bean. Melissa Luburić Bean (born on January 22, 1962) American politicianhas been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives A general theme of her campaign was that Crane was out of touch with his constituents. Indeed, even some Republican voters claimed they had not seen him in decades. He was one of the few congressmen whose Washington office lacked a public email address. Electronic mail, often abbreviated to e-mail, email, or originally eMail, is a Store-and-forward method of writing sending receiving Despite being dramatically outspent (she received almost no funding from the national level), Bean surprised both parties by garnering 43% of the vote in a district that supposedly had been redrawn after the 2000 Census to protect Crane (several previous opponents from both parties found their homes drawn out of the 8th and into the neighboring 10th).

Bean sought a rematch in the 2004 election. Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 109th Congress were held on November 2, 2004. Some considered the race unwinnable for Bean, but Crane's imminent retirement and his campaign's lack of enthusiasm, coupled with Bean's stance as a moderate Democrat (at least by Chicago-area standards) placed what had long been a very safe Republican seat in jeopardy. Bean also received endorsements from many major Chicago area newspapers, as well as support from then-Democratic Senate candidate, Barack Obama. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives

Bean raised almost as much money as Crane, claiming that she raised money from individual donors and that Crane received most donations from political action committees. In the US, a Political Action Committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group regardless of size organized to elect political candidates Despite Republican efforts to help Crane, Bean defeated Crane by roughly 4 points even as George W. Bush carried the district in the presidential election by 12 percentage points. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States.

References

External links

• Phil Crane at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress